On the Trail at the . . . World Mountain Running Trophy

The stage was set in Girdwood, AK, for North America’s first IAAF World Mountain Running Trophy: The skies had remained sunny for a week, providing stunning views of the mountains and ocean; the challenging course was in great condition; and more than 250 of the world’s best from 27 nations had assembled for the 19th running of the world championships.

But just hours before the junior racers were to set off, the skies opened, drenching nearly 50 gleeful kids during their one-mile fun run. Race officials were less enthused as the rain soon turned to fluky snow. As it accumulated on the flanks of 3,940-foot Mount Alyeska—about five inches eventually fell atop the course and two inches at the base—officials zipped up in a ski tram and mulled their options: proceed as scheduled, move the course lower, or maybe postpone.

"We found that the ground underneath the snow was dry," said event director Brad Precosky. "We felt really lucky about that. So we went ahead and said, ‘It’s a go.’" Volunteers raked the upper course free of snow to enable runners to find the trail.

Never before had the WMRT been run in snow, yet all five races went ahead as scheduled. And because of the slipping and sliding, muddied shorts, a few complaints from coaches, and a handful of tumbles resulting in minor injuries, the races will be remembered for the adversity athletes and organizers faced and overcame.

"This year we will never forget because the snow gave it a real Alaska flavor," said Danny Hughes, president of the World Mountain Running Association.

Italian Men Continue Dominance

Italian Marco De Gasperi, wary of the ascending prowess of teammate Marco Gaiardo, trailed the climbing specialist on the first of two trips to the course’s high point. The second time around, however, De Gasperi, 26, floated up the mountain in the lead, then disappeared on the foggy descent on his way to victory, covering the 11.48K course in 50:29. Austrian Florian Heinzle, 21, a three-time junior runner-up, crossed 47 seconds later, followed by Gaiardo.

With trademark Italian flair, De Gasperi raised his index fingers in No. 1 fashion upon crossing the finish line, then hugged Heinzle, his Italian teammates, and later, atop the victory podium, threw kisses to the award ceremony crowd. De Gasperi’s victory was an unprecedented fourth straight title on an up-and-down course (in a compromise between traditional fell runners of the British Islands and the continental Europeans who ascend ski mountains, runners go up-and-down on odd years and uphill-only on even years). He joins Isabelle Guillot of France and Gudrun Pflueger of Austria as the most decorated of WMRT runners.

Italy, with its strong mountain running tradition, easily claimed its 19th straight men’s team title and will host an attempt for number 20 next year. England took second, Germany third.

The American men—led by Paul Low (15th) and Bill Raitter (29th)—placed eighth of 18 teams, and would have done better had Simon Gutierrez and Peter De La Cerda held their early-race form that placed them among the top 10 on the first ascent. But both struggled coming down the mountain, as De La Cerda faded to 61st and Gutierrez dropped to 79th, more than 11:30 behind De Gasperi.

"My quads were shot after the first downhill," said Gutierrez, an expert climber who won the 2003 Mt. Washington Road Race and boasts a 29:17 10K PR.

De La Cerda, who will compete in February’s Olympic Marathon Trials, said he was concerned about the potential for injury and ran the downhills conservatively.

"It was a big learning experience, an eye-opener for sure. It was pretty insane coming down those hills,"said De La Cerda.

Low, 29, of Amherst, MA, and veteran of three previous WMRTs, was the lone American in the sporadically muddy conditions to wear fell shoes, which are heavier than racing flats but offer better traction. The choice of footwear—as well as the decision to hold back somewhat on the first loop—paid off.

"The real trick is not to kill yourself before the second climb," Low said.

"Expect the Unexpected"

The women’s race, run in heavy snow a day before the men, featured the 2001 champion Melissa Moon of New Zealand dueling with Angela Mudge, the 2000 titlist from Scotland.

Two months earlier, Moon had visited John Davies, her coach of 11 years and a 1964 Olympic 1500m bronze medalist, on his deathbed.

"Expect the unexpected [in Alaska]," he had told Moon during their final visit.

So when heavy snow—something Moon hadn’t touched since age 11—began falling the morning of her race, Moon was unfazed.

After trailing by 10 seconds on the summit—which the women climbed only once during their 7.7K race—Moon feared that she’d let Mudge get away. But on Moon’s fearless descent ("I risked everything," she said) she flew by Mudge for a 39-second win in 39:02.

Moon raised her arms in triumph at the finish line and gazed skyward. "I looked up and said, ‘John, we’ve done it,’" Moon recalls.

Scotland—credited with holding the first hill races a thousand years ago—won the women’s team title, followed by France and Austria.

The U.S. women were eighth, led by Anita Ortiz’s ninth place finish—the first U.S. woman to place in the top 10 at a WMRT. Ortiz, mother of four and the 2002 North American Snowshoe Champion, said the precipitation aided her. "The snow took away some of the fear that I have on downhills,"said the Vail, CO, native. She reported that her race was saved when she traded her racing flats for knobby trainers 15 minutes before the start. Nikki Kimball (24th), Kelli Lusk (39th), and the race’s oldest woman, 44-year-old Kari DiStefano (48th) rounded out the U.S. team scoring.

Precosky and fellow Alaskan Barney Griffith hatched the idea of hosting the championships during the 1999 WMRT in Malaysia. They won the bid two years later in Italy, where Precosky competed for the Teva U.S. Mountain Running Team. Initially Precosky, a four-time winner of Alaska’s prestigious Mount Marathon race, also hoped to compete in Girdwood, but the countless hours of organizational responsibilities made training impossible. Nonetheless, he called heading more than 200 volunteers the most gratifying event of his life.

"Our motto is to give back to the mountains,"said Precosky. "For me to give back in this kind of magnitude, that’s really satisfying."

Matias Saari, 33, marathoner and freelance writer, wishes the hills around his home in Fairbanks, AK were more mountainous. His article, "The Fairbanks Foursome Plus One" appeared in the April 2003 issue of Running Times.